An ecological systems approach to examining risk factors for early childhood overweight: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

Objective: To use an ecological systems approach to examine individual-, family-, community- and area-level risk factors for overweight (including obesity) in 3-year-old children. Methods: A prospective nationally representative cohort study conducted in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland. Participants included 13 188 singleton children aged 3 years in the Millennium Cohort Study, born between 2000 and 2002, who had complete height/weight data. The main outcome measure was childhood overweight (including obesity) defined by the International Obesity TaskForce cut-offs for body mass index. Results: 23.0% of 3-year-old children were overweight or obese. In the fully adjusted model, primarily individual- and family-level factors were associated with early childhood overweight: birthweight z-score (adjusted odds ratio, 1.36, 95% CI 1.30 to 1.42), black ethnicity (1.41, 1.11 to 1.80) (compared with white), introduction to solid foods or =21 hours/week (1.23, 1.10 to 1.37) (compared with never worked). Breastfeeding > or =4 months (0.86, 0.76 to 0.97) (compared with none) and Indian ethnicity (0.63, 0.42 to 0.94) were associated with a decreased risk of early childhood overweight. Children from Wales were also more likely to be overweight than children from England. Conclusions: Most risk factors for early childhood overweight are modifiable or would allow at-risk groups to be identified. Policies and interventions should focus on parents and providing them with an environment to support healthy behaviours for themselves and their children

Maternal employment and early childhood overweight: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

Background: In most developed countries, maternal employment has increased rapidly. Changing patterns of family life have been suggested to be contributing to the rising prevalence of childhood obesity. Objectives: Our primary objective was to examine the relationship between maternal and partner employment and overweight in children aged 3 years. Our secondary objective was to investigate factors related to early childhood overweight only among mothers in employment. Design: Cohort study. Subjects: A total of 13 113 singleton children aged 3 years in the Millennium Cohort Study, born between 2000 and 2002 in the United Kingdom, who had complete height/weight data and parental employment histories. Measurements: Parents were interviewed when the child was aged 9 months and 3 years, and the child's height and weight were measured at 3 years. Overweight (including obesity) was defined by the International Obesity Task Force cut-offs. Results: A total of 23% (3085) of children were overweight at 3 years. Any maternal employment after the child's birth was associated with early childhood overweight (odds ratio (OR) [95% confidence interval (CI)]; 1.14 [1.00, 1.29]), after adjustment for potential confounding and mediating factors. Children were more likely to be overweight for every 10 h a mother worked per week (OR [95% CI]; 1.10 [1.04, 1.17]), after adjustment. An interaction with household income revealed that this relationship was only significant for children from households with an annual income of pound33 000 ($57 750) or higher. There was no evidence for an association between early childhood overweight and whether or for how many hours the partner worked, or with mothers' or partners' duration of employment. These relationships were also evident among mothers in employment. Independent risk factors for early childhood overweight were consistent with the published literature. Conclusions: Long hours of maternal employment, rather than lack of money may impede young children's access to healthy foods and physical activity. Policies supporting work-life balance may help parents reduce potential barriers

Regional differences in overweight: an effect of people or place?

Objective: To examine UK country and English regional differences in childhood overweight (including obesity) at 3 years and determine whether any differences persist after adjustment for individual risk factors. Design: Nationally representative prospective study. Setting: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Participants: 13 194 singleton children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study with height and weight data at age 3 years. Main outcome measure: Overweight (including obesity) was defined according to the International Obesity TaskForce cut-offs for body mass index, which are age and sex specific. Results: At 3 years of age, 23% (3102) of children were overweight or obese. In univariable analyses, children from Northern Ireland (odds ratio 1.30, 95% confidence interval 1.14 to 1.48) and Wales (1.26, 1.11 to 1.44) were more likely to be overweight than children from England. There were no differences in overweight between children from Scotland and England. Within England, children from the East (0.71, 0.57 to 0.88) and South East regions (0.82, 0.68 to 0.99) were less likely to be overweight than children from London. There were no differences in overweight between children from other English regions and children from London. These differences were maintained after adjustment for individual socio-demographic characteristics and other risk factors for overweight. Conclusions: UK country and English regional differences in early childhood overweight are independent of individual risk factors. This suggests a role for policies to support environmental changes that remove barriers to physical activity or healthy eating in young children

MultiCellDS : a community-developed standard for curating microenvironment-dependent multicellular data

Exchanging and understanding scientific data and their context represents a significant barrier to advancing research, especially with respect to information siloing. Maintaining information provenance and providing data curation and quality control help overcome common concerns and barriers to the effective sharing of scientific data. To address these problems in and the unique challenges of multicellular systems, we assembled a panel composed of investigators from several disciplines to create the MultiCellular Data Standard (MultiCellDS) with a use-case driven development process. The standard includes (1) digital cell lines, which are analogous to traditional biological cell lines, to record metadata, cellular microenvironment, and cellular phenotype variables of a biological cell line, (2) digital snapshots to consistently record simulation, experimental, and clinical data for multicellular systems, and (3) collections that can logically group digital cell lines and snapshots. We have created a MultiCellular DataBase (MultiCellDB) to store digital snapshots and the 200+ digital cell lines we have generated. MultiCellDS, by having a fixed standard, enables discoverability, extensibility, maintainability, searchability, and sustainability of data, creating biological applicability and clinical utility that permits us to identify upcoming challenges to uplift biology and strategies and therapies for improving human health

Possible origins of macroscopic left-right asymmetry in organisms

I consider the microscopic mechanisms by which a particular left-right (L/R) asymmetry is generated at the organism level from the microscopic handedness of cytoskeletal molecules. In light of a fundamental symmetry principle, the typical pattern-formation mechanisms of diffusion plus regulation cannot implement the "right-hand rule"; at the microscopic level, the cell's cytoskeleton of chiral filaments seems always to be involved, usually in collective states driven by polymerization forces or molecular motors. It seems particularly easy for handedness to emerge in a shear or rotation in the background of an effectively two-dimensional system, such as the cell membrane or a layer of cells, as this requires no pre-existing axis apart from the layer normal. I detail a scenario involving actin/myosin layers in snails and in C. elegans, and also one about the microtubule layer in plant cells. I also survey the other examples that I am aware of, such as the emergence of handedness such as the emergence of handedness in neurons, in eukaryote cell motility, and in non-flagellated bacteria.Comment: 42 pages, 6 figures, resubmitted to J. Stat. Phys. special issue. Major rewrite, rearranged sections/subsections, new Fig 3 + 6, new physics in Sec 2.4 and 3.4.1, added Sec 5 and subsections of Sec

Orbital anastomoses of the anterior deep temporal artery

The anterior deep temporal artery may provide a major collateral pathway to the intracranial circulation through anastomoses with branches of the ophthalmic artery. Review of carotid angiograms in 26 patients with internal carotid artery occlusive disease revealed anterior deep temporal to ophthalmic artery anastomoses in 16 cases. This route of collateral blood flow was associated in most instances with total occlusion of the cervical portion of the internal carotid artery. Three cases demonstrating the angiographic anatomy of the anterior deep temporal artery and its potential anastomoses with branches of the ophthalmic artery are presented. L'artère temporale profonde antérieure peut être à l'origine de circulation colatérale grâce à ses anastomoses avec l'artère ophtalmique. Une telle anastomose a été constatée 16 fois sur 26 cas de thrombose de l'artère carotide interne. Über die A. temporalis anterior ist über Anastomosen zu den Ästen der A. ophthalmica ein Kollateral-Kreislauf zu den intracraniellen Gefäßabschnitten möglich. Bei 26 Patienten mit einem A. carotis interna-Verschluß zeigte sich dieser Kreislauf in 16 Fällen. Es wird über 3 Fälle ausführlich berichtet, bei denen die angiographische Anatomie der A. temporalis anterior und die möglichen Anastomosen mit Ästen der A. ophthalmica besprochen wird.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46672/1/234_2004_Article_BF00335020.pd

MultiCellDS: a community-developed standard for curating microenvironment-dependent multicellular data

Exchanging and understanding scientific data and their context represents a significant barrier to advancing research, especially with respect to information siloing. Maintaining information provenance and providing data curation and quality control help overcome common concerns and barriers to the effective sharing of scientific data. To address these problems in and the unique challenges of multicellular systems, we assembled a panel composed of investigators from several disciplines to create the MultiCellular Data Standard (MultiCellDS) with a use-case driven development process. The standard includes (1) digital cell lines, which are analogous to traditional biological cell lines, to record metadata, cellular microenvironment, and cellular phenotype variables of a biological cell line, (2) digital snapshots to consistently record simulation, experimental, and clinical data for multicellular systems, and (3) collections that can logically group digital cell lines and snapshots. We have created a MultiCellular DataBase (MultiCellDB) to store digital snapshots and the 200+ digital cell lines we have generated. MultiCellDS, by having a fixed standard, enables discoverability, extensibility, maintainability, searchability, and sustainability of data, creating biological applicability and clinical utility that permits us to identify upcoming challenges to uplift biology and strategies and therapies for improving human health

MultiCellDS: a standard and a community for sharing multicellular data

Cell biology is increasingly focused on cellular heterogeneity and multicellular systems. To make the fullest use of experimental, clinical, and computational efforts, we need standardized data formats, community-curated "public data libraries", and tools to combine and analyze shared data. To address these needs, our multidisciplinary community created MultiCellDS (MultiCellular Data Standard): an extensible standard, a library of digital cell lines and tissue snapshots, and support software. With the help of experimentalists, clinicians, modelers, and data and library scientists, we can grow this seed into a community-owned ecosystem of shared data and tools, to the benefit of basic science, engineering, and human health

Jet size dependence of single jet suppression in lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s(NN)) = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Measurements of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions at the LHC provide direct sensitivity to the physics of jet quenching. In a sample of lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s) = 2.76 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 7 inverse microbarns, ATLAS has measured jets with a calorimeter over the pseudorapidity interval |eta| < 2.1 and over the transverse momentum range 38 < pT < 210 GeV. Jets were reconstructed using the anti-kt algorithm with values for the distance parameter that determines the nominal jet radius of R = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. The centrality dependence of the jet yield is characterized by the jet "central-to-peripheral ratio," Rcp. Jet production is found to be suppressed by approximately a factor of two in the 10% most central collisions relative to peripheral collisions. Rcp varies smoothly with centrality as characterized by the number of participating nucleons. The observed suppression is only weakly dependent on jet radius and transverse momentum. These results provide the first direct measurement of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions and complement previous measurements of dijet transverse energy imbalance at the LHC.Comment: 15 pages plus author list (30 pages total), 8 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Physics Letters B. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/HION-2011-02

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results